Short and honest: a simple flat or furniture key costs 5 to 15 euros to copy, and the locksmith round the corner or the hardware store does it in a few minutes. A modern security key costs 30 to 80 euros and more, and those are exactly the ones you cannot have cut at a kiosk. Why not, I will explain step by step, with real prices from Frankfurt and no mystery around it.
I have been making keys and cylinders for nine years. Every week I see people standing at the machine who do not understand why their key will not cut. So I will not start with marketing, I will start with what you actually need: the price and the limit.
The prices at a glance
Here is the range I consider real for Frankfurt. No prettied-up bait prices, just what is actually charged at the counter.
| Key type | Price per piece | Where it is possible |
|---|---|---|
| Simple toothed key | 5 to 15 euros | kiosk, hardware store, locksmith |
| Reversible key without protection | 15 to 30 euros | locksmith, specialist shop |
| Dimple key without a card | 20 to 40 euros | specialist with a good cutter |
| Security key with a security card | 30 to 80 euros | system provider only |
| Special profiles, old safe keys | 60 euros and more | specialist, often with a wait |
These numbers vary. A kiosk in the Bahnhofsviertel sometimes charges three euros more for the same key than the hardware store in Niederrad, because the location is pricier. That is normal. What is not normal: 25 euros for a flat toothed key. There you are paying the shop rent, not the key.
Why does a security key cost five times as much
The surcharge has a reason, and it is not a rip-off reason. A simple key is a flat piece of brass with a few teeth. Any cutter copies it in two minutes. Done.
A security key is something else. It has dimples, sometimes moving elements, a spring-loaded pin in the blade, reversible-key tracks on both sides. The blank alone costs the dealer many times more. The machine that scans something like this cleanly costs a small fortune and has to be set precisely. And third, and this is the core: you often need an authorisation just to get the blank at all.
Brands like ABUS, EVVA, BKS, Winkhaus or Kaba have patent-protected profiles here. The patent means the blank is not sold freely. No kiosk has it in the drawer. Full stop.
Why some keys cannot be copied at all
This is the part where I have the most debates on the phone. A security key with a security card is copy-protected. That is not an oversight, that is the whole point.
Imagine the tradesperson who spent two hours in your flat quietly cutting a spare during lunch. With a hardware-store key that is done in five minutes. With a system that uses a security card it does not work, because he cannot get the blank and cannot present a card. That is exactly what you pay the surcharge for.
What the security card really is
The security card is a small plastic or paper card with a registered number and often a code. It is your proof of ownership for the locking system. Without that card nobody orders you a spare key, not me, not the manufacturer.
Do not lose this card. I tell everyone twice. If the card is gone, reordering gets painful, because the manufacturer first checks who you are and whether you are even entitled. In the worst case you have to prove you are the owner of the system, and that takes time.
Who is allowed to order the key
Here is a point that surprises many people: the security card belongs to the owner of the locking system, not automatically to every tenant. In a multi-party building it often sits with the landlord or the property management.
If you as a tenant want a spare key, you ask there, not at the locksmith. The locksmith can do nothing without the card. That is not red tape, that is the logic of a protected system. More on who pays for what in a tenancy is in our guide on locking-system law.
Locked out and in a hurry?
Price quoted up front, vetted partner business, ~22 minutes on site.
Two stories from recently
Last week a customer from Bockenheim came to me. She wanted to copy her EVVA key at the machine and did not understand why it only beeped. I showed her the security card, which luckily she had with her. With the card the spare was there in a week, properly, with a number, traceable. Price: 42 euros. Without the card it would have turned into an order with an ownership check, so weeks instead of days.
And last month a man from the Nordend came in who had bought a supposed EVVA spare key without a card from one of those internet sellers. 19 euros, sounded great. The key arrived, looked real, but only turned halfway and jammed in the cylinder on the first serious attempt to lock. We ended up swapping the cylinder, because the cheap blank had scratched the pins. This is not a one-off. If someone promises to copy a security-card key without the card, keep your hands off it. Either it is a bad fake or a stolen blank, and both bring trouble.
When is what worth it
Not every key needs a security system. Spending money in the wrong place helps nobody.
- Cellar key, mailbox, garden gate: a cheap blank is fine, 5 to 15 euros. Here nothing matters except that it works.
- Furniture, storage room, garage with nothing of value behind it: reversible key without protection, 15 to 30 euros.
- Flat door, front door, anything that protects: a protected system with a security card. Here the surcharge is well invested.
For the flat door, especially if you live within a locking system, take the protected profile. A copy-protected key is part of your burglary protection. It makes sure that nobody has an unnoticed spare in circulation. More on what actually holds at the door is on our burglary protection page.
A few practical tips that save money
From nine years at the counter, very concretely:
- Never hand over all your keys at once, say to a tradesperson. One is enough. That way nobody can copy in peace.
- When you order your first security key, order two or three pieces directly. The per-piece price rarely drops, but you save the second trip and wait.
- Note the number of the security card separately from the card. A photo is enough. If the card is lost, the number helps with the manufacturer.
- When copying, test the new key on the spot in the door, not at home. A slight burr is quickly filed down, a wrongly cut key is not.
What to do if a key really is gone
A lost key is more than a cost item, it is a security risk, especially if your name and address were attached to it. Then copying does not help, then the cylinder has to come out.
Often a lock replacement makes more sense than endless copying, particularly if you already have two old cylinders in the house anyway. What that costs you can see transparently on our pricing page, and if it has to be fast, our emergency service helps. For questions about the system you can also reach us directly via contact.
The consumer advice centre recommends asking for a fixed price upfront with locksmiths anyway, and that applies to copying just the same. Anyone who will not give a price on the phone usually has a reason.
Answered briefly
Can I have any key copied? No. Patent-protected security keys with a security card only through the system provider, against presentation of the card.
Why will my key not cut at the machine? Because the blank is patent-protected and not freely available. The machine simply does not have it.
How long does a security key take? Usually a few days to a week through the manufacturer, with the card. Without the card much longer.
Is a cheap internet spare worth it? For simple keys maybe. For security profiles no, you often get fakes that damage the cylinder.
Bottom line: simple and cheap at a kiosk, secure and pricier through the manufacturer. And if someone promises to copy your security-card key without the card, I would be very careful.
